“Visual masterpiece” is perhaps the most common description for Redline, a hand drawn anime film released in 2009 that certainly deserves, or at least demands, that particular praise. So much so that it is practically shielded from any other possible criticism. Indeed, any consensus of the movie would have to include that most take note of the film’s lack of plot and let the imagery itself be the marker for success rather than the story that (literally) drives it. It’s an interesting situation, one that I think only animation has rights to. After all, you could easily say that Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets or John Carter or even Jupiter Ascending are visually stunning yet none of these met with any acclaim, let alone a legacy like Redline, which admittedly didn’t have box office success yet has become renowned in the years following.
So what is the story, or lack of it? In a word, racing. We meet “Sweet” JP, a slick ridiculous pompadour-wearing racer who finally manages to qualify for the Redline, the biggest most popular race in the galaxy. ‘Manages’ might be the wrong word as a bit of trickery is at play, but either way, he’s on his way to Roboworld, where the race will be held, meeting various other competitors leading up the starting line. Can you guess who wins?
And that’s it. But not really. There’s more, including a megalomaniac cyborg ruler, organized disgruntled miners (the digging kind), not one but two gigantic biological weapons, mobsters, gambling, an orbital cannon, aliens in every direction, supersonic nail-biting racing, and a pretty girl who likes to to drive and takes her top off because of course she does. It’s a lot and all of it flies at the screen at Mach … what’s the highest Mach? Whatever it is, that’s how fast. We’re not really meant to follow along, the film in constant motion, which is hardly a fault. Truly, even when characters are just sitting in a room, things always seem to be in a fluid state, and honestly, while it’s a rush to keep track from frame one to its last, there’s no denying how genuinely fun it is to do so, even when a lot of the time you’re wondering just what the heck is going on?
Director and animator Takeshi Koike, along with writers Katsuhito Ishii, Yōji Enokido, and Yoshiki Sakurai seem to abandon all storytelling conventions in favor of something akin to gulping an energy drink right after eating a bowlful of sugar. There is no ‘start’ to this really, the audience dropped headfirst into the middle to the Yellowline race and from that moment on, play catch up as the film journeys the viewer on a flight of facial colors, wild exaggerations, and flits of physics-denying fancy, rarely stopping long enough to catch a breath. And truly, why would it? This is about the fastest race in the whole galaxy? Is there more we need to know?
Interestingly, while the subplot of the cyborg planet and the secrets they keep manage to squeak their way into the action just enough to make the ending matter, all we really focus on is JP himself and his humongous head of hair that, naturally, has a bigger (longer?) part to play in the road ahead. I found that I really got involved in his singular motivation, his backstory consisting only of a flashback to a childhood memory of a girl he has since held in his heart. We just want him to win, and as his competitors zoom in and out of the story with booms and bangs and zip and zaps, we see that he is but a small part of a thriving galaxy where there are almost no two beings the same. When you are able to really get a hold of what the filmmakers are doing, it’s an incredibly imaginative undertaking, the film populated by a wonderfully creative cast of characters, both at the forefront and beyond.
That’s why Redline has gained such an enthusiastic following, the art and direction uniquely inviting, especially for fans of the genre. It certainly doesn’t have the impact or emotional staying power of others like Ghost in the Machine or Paprika to name a couple, but what it does have is individuality and more so, a fervent personality that practically dares you to look away. This is a movie that clings to a single thread and valiantly flails about in a state of growing madness, proving that sometimes, that’s enough. That it ends in a gloriously confounding explosion of shattering violence, unexpected collaboration, and fantastical romance is all the more reason to watch. Indeed, it is the long conversation you will have afterward (please watch this with a friend, it makes a difference) that itself is unique as you will say things you might not ever have said before about a film.
So, story versus style. Is there a winner here? I’ll say that when I decided to watch this, I went in wanting story, being a casual fan of the genre, hoping to be pulled into a world that challenged me. It took me a hard fifteen minutes to realize that there was none of that coming, at least on the level I expected. However, resigned to that, I fell immediately into the passion behind the project, a film that does in its own right pull you in, a gravity about it that holds you tight and ultimately leaves you challenged in a different way. Recommended.